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Five months ago my friends from college wanted to do a girls night with dinner at the new and popular chicken and waffle spot in Long Island City called Sweet Chick. Personally I have heard how popular this place was in Brooklyn, but the one in Long Island City was said to be bigger and more accommodating than its original location. They are also two additional locations, one in Brooklyn and the other in the Lower East Side in Manhattan.

When my friend contacted me on Saturday afternoon, she informed me that this restaurant did not accept reservations and it was walk in only. Given my knowledge of this franchise’s popularity, I decided to take a cab to the restaurant. I was glad I did because the nearest train station was closed for routine weekend repairs. When I approached the restaurant, there was a line going out the door of people putting their names down on the wait list. As I got closer to the host inside the restaurant, the host was telling each person on line that the wait was two hours. When I heard that the wait time was two hours, most people walked out, but I stayed so I can talk to the host and even the manager about wait time, when the restaurant did not appear crowded. Anyways, I put my name down and the host stated that they would try to reduce my wait time and as more and more people decided to leave, my wait time was reduced to 30 minutes. Thirty minutes was definitely better than two hours. By the time, my friends arrived and we were finally seated. To start, I ordered the Pink Noise cocktail ($12). The cocktail tasted really good (flavors were well balanced), but strong (there were two maybe three different liquors in this cocktail) and I was buzzed throughout the night despite consumption of the fried chicken and waffles.

For the table we ordered the Crawfish Hush Puppies ($11). The hush puppies were greasy. The hush puppies also contained corn, which enhanced the texture. I loved the jalapeno jam because it complemented the saltiness of the hush puppy. If you don’t want to feel that you’re eating greasy fried fish fritters, the remoulade sauce was a great addition if you want to mask the oily exterior while embracing the crawfish flavor inside.

Crawfish Hush Puppies – Remoulade Sauce, Jalapeno Jam

For those who can’t eat seafood, there are the pork belly nuggets ($10), but personally it was too small of a portion for the price. It was also forgettable. Personally it was a failed attempt to create a balanced dish of a sweet marinated pork belly with a pickled fruit and the acidic kimchi.

We ordered three different chicken and waffles dishes ($19 each); all look really good and interesting. In addition, you can even design your own chicken and waffles meals.

Nashville Fried Chicken Waffle – my friend ordered this meal because it was one if not the spiciest meal in the menu. My friends like their meal, I took a bite of the chicken and it was packed with Southern flavors and spice. If you like hot and spicy, this is a choice you won’t regret.

Buffalo Fried Chicken Waffle – my friend ordered this meal and tasting a piece of that buffalo fried chicken, it definitely lived up to its name. What I mean is that this was definitely a chicken and waffles version of Buffalo Fried Chicken. It is a twist from a classic that will leave you satisfied.

Fried Chicken Parmesan – I am a sucker for cheese so when I saw fresh mozzarella on top of a fried chicken served on a little cast iron plate with tomato sauce, it was over. The mozzarella, basil and parmesan waffle complemented the tomato sauce.

Overall the fried chicken was properly battered and the texture of each bite from three different dishes was very consistent. Plus, the dish helped alleviate the alcohol buzz from the Pink Noise.

To end our evening of awesome comfort food, we ordered the entire desserts menu. All the desserts were to die for. If you want to go towards the healthy route, stick with the blueberry cobbler. Personally I would choose the Daily Special Donut Ice Cream Sandwich, which was amazing.

I realized why service was slow throughout the evening because the chef was ensuring that every dish that came out of that kitchen was up to par and all of our orders did not disappoint.

After sharing this information here on my blog, I am craving chicken and waffles. I definitely want to check out the other locations especially the one in the Lower East Side.

Six weeks ago we decided to check out Saigon Casa, Vietnamese restaurant in Port Jefferson Station in Long Island.

The menu has limited options in comparison to what I’m used to seeing in other Vietnamese restaurants in Queens.

One of the dishes that we had to order was the pho. There were many types of pho, but we ordered the Pho Tai Nam Gau, which a beef soup containing rare steak, brisket and flank steak with noodles on the side.

The soup tasted good and we loved the fact that we can add the noodles at our discretion to our small bowls. I am still in search and experimenting recipes that replicated the best one I’ve had to date at the Pho Bang in Elmhurst.

Another dish I had was the Vietnamese Sizzling Crepe called Bang Xeo. This crepe was sold as a special item at this restaurant. The dish was huge and it is made of rice flour and tumeric stuffed with shrimp and pork. The dish was delicious and I want to make this dish.

Happy New Year! On this first Thursday of 2018, we will be celebrating National Spaghetti Day!

Spaghetti was historically recorded around the 12th century in Sicily by Muhammad al-Idrisi, Muslim historian and geographer who served at the court of Sicilian King Roger II. It was not until the 19th century that this dish became popular throughout Italy and abroad especially the United States. Currently, spaghetti has been modernized and mass produced where the ingredients are now sold in canned and boxed form at almost all supermarkets.

A few years ago I heard about the best spaghetti in New York City from various press such as the New York Times, CBS Local, Timeout, Zagat, Thrillist and Serious Eats. Scarpetta, located in the Meatpacking District has elevated the spaghetti dish made with tomato and basil by using butter. At a whopping cost of $26, the presentation and taste made every cent worthwhile.

Spaghetti with tomato and basil $26

Further research revealed that Serious Eats met with Scarpetta’s Scott Conant and watched him make this signature dish. The ingredients provided makes this dish potentially budget friendly. However, it is the technique that makes the dish what it is. Hopefully when the weather clears up, I’ll make the dish with the ingredients provided.

For those who don’t have access to the ingredients and more or less lazy, this dish can be made with three ingredients:

Happy Winter Solstice! Yes it’s officially winter and this year is going by way too fast. I was reviewing the thousands of pictures taken within the last five years and I’ve come across several pictures taken of my meals eaten at David Burke Fishtail (closed on January 2016), which is now Tavern 62, which opened in October 2016. Anyways, what I enjoyed eating at both places was the camaraderie vibe between the staff, bartenders and management. I enjoyed the happy hour deals, well presented entrees and desserts. Food tasting at times varied depending on the day and whose cooking it and whether it was healthy or not is another story. But anyhow, I am still drawn into eating at this place due to their seasonal changes in menu. Below is a chronological timeline of some of the dishes consumed at Fishtail and Tavern 62.

Last weekend we have had the privilege to be invited by Japion to attend ChopsticksNY “Eat Up Drink Up Japan”.

We attended the Dinner Session. Upon arrival, we were given a card containing circles each representing each of the six regions. What I loved about this setup is that every attendee would have the opportunity to taste every dish as long as they present the card to the server at each station to be stamped. Once the card is stamped, a sample of each of the three dishes are served with a sake pairing of your choice or even try more sake.

The event setup was well thought out where the attendee could feel that they are going on a food and drink journey through Japan.

Our food journey began with dishes from Northeastern Japan – Hokkaido & Tohoku. This region is known for their seafood. Food samples paired with Gasaryu Kisaragi sake included:

Salmon Teman-zushi – Favorite

Dashi Dofu (tofu) – vegetarian

Beef Tongue Roast

The second region we visited is the populated multicultural region of Kanto. Food samples paired with Tsukinoi Taiyori Ginjo sake included:

Peanut Miso atop Cucumber – vegetarian and favorite

Utsumomiya Gyoza (pan fried dumpling)

Deep fried monkfish

We then traveled to Central Japan to experience the food and sake from the Chubu/Tokai region. We decided to pair our food samples with Kubota Junmai Daiginjo sake.

Sasa-Zushi (Favorite) – Rice is amazing

Nagoya Tebasaki (fried chicken wings)

Simmered Daikon with Yuzu Miso Sauce (vegetarian)

Finishing halfway through the food and sake journey, we moved on to the region called Kinki is considered the ancient capital of Japan. This region’s food also caters to the noble class. We paired our food samples with our favorite sake of the night: Umeoyado Yuzo Shu.

Finally the sixth and final region is Kyushu located in southern Japan. The food presented is more common in most Japanese restaurants here. We paired our food with the sake Yatsushika Tokubetsu Junmai.

Roasted Wagyu Beef (favorite)

Pork Kaku-ni

Gane – vegetarian

After our six region meal, we visited the VIP section and tasted the “higher end” sake, which is unfiltered sake from the Daiginjo Counter. The sake was served by sake sommelier Toshiyuki Koizumi of Wasan Brooklyn.

The sake was definitely more refined and strong so the night end with consumption of three different degrees of matcha from Ippodo Tea Company and mochi ice cream.

One of the popular festivities celebrated in New York is the San Gennaro Festival in Little Italy. This festival last 10 days, this year the festival started from 9/14 thru 9/24. The festival is held along Mulberry Street. The street is so packed to the point of claustrophobia and it can be worse than rush hour.

There were a variety of food items such as sausage and peppers, pastries, pina coladas, seafood, fried oreos etc. to purchase but they are overpriced. Personally I’ve avoided eating food from the vendors. Therefore I prefer eating at one of my favorite spots:

Da Nico Ristorante (164 Mulberry Street) is a local favorite in Little Italy and it has a garden. But with the humidity and hot weather we decided to stay indoors.

We went on a Friday night and we walked in and were seated immediately. I’ve eaten here several times for lunch and was never disappointed. The place as I recalled was known for their meat dishes. Portions of each dish were perfect where there were no leftovers. Service was overall great and very accommodating given the busy atmosphere. I definitely want to return here for lunch and eat at the garden.

Here are the dishes that were ordered:

Appetizer: Mozzarella In Carrozza $13. This dish is coated in different kinds of flour and breading. The texture was light not greasy. The sauce was so good. Unfortunately, was hoping for more slices.

Entrees: Both entrees came with sides of vegetables and a rice ball. Vegetables were good, the rice ball, not so much. A side of penne alla vodka was also ordered, however, there were better versions.

The star main entrees overall were amazing, the taste and texture remained the same after 13 years.

This year I have visited a restaurant that focuses on desserts. This place has become my favorite go to places if I have a sweet tooth. The unique Asian fusion flavors and elaborate presentations has been recognized by NBC, Zagat and Examiner.

Each dessert is served to share and it’s $10 per dish. It’s ideal to go with groups and order the tapas set. I was with a group of girls and we ate at the original Spot Dessert Bar in the East Village. We ordered a 3 tapas set costing $27. Below is the three tapas we ordered:

The Harvest

Golden Toast

Chocolate Green Tea Lava Cake

Another perk of Spot Dessert Bar is their punch card; so for every $10 or every tapas set ordered a stamp is placed. If you collect 9 stamps, you get a free dessert. The quickest way to the free dessert is to order the tapas set. I’ve eaten here three times at all the locations and ordered the 3 tapas set each time, which resulted in 9 stamps entitling me to a free dessert tapa on my next trip. Stay tuned for more….

On August 23, I’ve decided to take advantage of my discounted coupon from Gilt City to purchase my ticket for the summer event: Eataly Presents: Stop and Smell the Rose in Eataly’s newest restaurant Vino e Grano.

The overall event provided a great walkthrough of Eataly Downtown. The walkthrough consisted on stations that was well placed where everyone can pace themselves sampling all the food and wine being offered.

Early this week, I was invited by the co-chairs of the American Cancer Society Taste of Hope to attend and support the first ever Taste of Hope Goes to Broadway. It was a chill low key event filled with Broadway stars who did not recognize, but what is important is that money was raised and tickets were only $50 and it could be paid at the door. Admission included the opportunity to tour the newly renovated $6 million condo plus wines, and bites from Tolache and Delicatessen. Executive Chef Michael Ferraro led a team to present the delicious dishes that covered all types of eaters. The food presented were lean and healthy.

Tacuba HK – Brisket Tacos

Delicatessen’s Duck dumplings and Tuna Tartare

It was great to reconnect with the management team and committee members who I’ve had the pleasure of working with during the planning of the 12th Annual Taste of Hope Committee.

Cancer continues to be one of the leading causes of death. Funding and donations are critical to finding the cause and cure to the various cancers.

Last weekend we went to the Queens International Night Market behind the New York Hall of Science inside Flushing Corona Park in Queens. Founder John Wang, started the International Night Market started in 2015 in the effort to create a cultural event celebrating the diversity of immigrants and small businesses. The Night Market was designed to sell dishes at a cap of $5 and what I’ve learned is that half of the proceeds were going to be donated.

On July 1, there were 38 food vendors that participated in the event. The vendors came from various countries such as China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Philippines, Colombia, Korea, Vietnam, Burma, Mexico, Malaysia and Indonesia. In addition to the diverse food options there were unique food creations such as the Twisted Potato and Twister Cake.

The first time I actually visited the Night Market was when it first opened in 2015 and I went alone. I highly do not recommend going to this night market alone because the food choices are very overwhelming. What is amazing about this experience is that each food item purchase ranged between $3 and $6 and what is even better is that the portion size was shareable. In our case, we split everything.

During our visit to the Night Market, we sampled food from 12 out of the 38 food vendors. Just want to disclose that healthy food choices during our visit did not cross our minds as we were embracing the diversity that is celebrated through cultural and even fusion dishes. Below are the dishes that we tried that stood out from the event. The total cost of the dishes below we spent was: $57 for two people, which is not bad for 12 different dishes. There were two vendors we’ve tried and paid the extra $20, but pictures were not taken. Queens International Night Market